Another winter is here and there is no place for day laborers in Southampton to wait for a day job, other than out on the corner by 7-11.
To address this issue, one year ago OLA joined forces with other local organizations and individuals to form the Coalition for a Worklink Center, whose goal is to open a formal hiring site, or “hiring hall,” in Southampton. With the growing number of day laborers gathering near the 7-11 on the corner of CR39 and North Sea Road in Southampton, the need is greater now than ever before to establish a formal hiring site in which workers and employees can conduct their business.
For the past year the Coalition has been working on locating a suitable site and educating the community about day laborers, and it has already acquired funding from non-profit organizations. Other groups that make up the Coalition include the North and South Fork Hispanic Apostolates, the Southampton and East Hampton Anti-Bias Task Forces, and the League of Women Voters, among others, as well as clergy of various houses of worship, concerned business people and members of the community.
Both Mayor Mark Epley of Southampton Village and New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele have publicly voiced their support, have attended Coalition meetings, and are working with the Coalition to locate a suitable site.
Coalition members are often on hand to support the day laborers and to monitor the verbal aggression of a small band of picketers who arrive regularly from out of town to express their opposition to the proposed hiring hall and to undocumented immigrant workers. They hear constantly of the abuses some of the day laborers endure while waiting for employment, such as name calling, physical harassment and being spat on by the protestors. In addition, many of these men report that after they have worked for days or even weeks, they are denied payment by their employers.
A Worklink Center would eliminate these types of abuses. And contrary to myth, it would not be a center just for Latin American immigrants but for anybody looking for work on a temporary basis, such as a college or high-school student looking to make a little extra money or a person who has a regular weekday job, but wants to supplement his/her income on the weekends.
Studies have shown that communities that take a proactive approach to the day labor issue by establishing hiring halls have enhanced relations among police, residents, business owners, employers and day laborers and a positive overall sense of community spirit and civic involvement, as opposed to the wariness, fear and abuses that are present when a hiring hall is not supported. Which kind of community do we want to live in?
Please visit www.worklinkcoalition.com for more information, including a “myths/facts” sheet to help inform and educate the community about day laborers and immigrants in general.
And please sign the online petition in support of a Worklink Center, which will be forwarded to our Town and Village officials.
Pamela Greinke
Member: Organizacion Latino - Americana of Eastern Long Island (OLA),
Coalition for a Worklink Center
